Currently, more than 1.5 billion people lack access to electricity. Further, more than 4 billion people, the majority of the population, reside at the bottom of the socioeconomic pyramid—the so called “base of the pyramid.” Base of the pyramid households spend up to 30% of their income on expensive batteries and low-quality, dangerous fuel-based sources of light, such as kerosene, to meet their energy needs. Each night, children and adults alike in these households inhale toxic kerosene fumes. Children struggle to study by dim kerosene light. Families travel hours to the nearest source of electricity to charge their cell phones or buy batteries. Accordingly, a need exists for a safe and economical way of providing light and energy to base of pyramid households.
Mobile money payment systems are known. For example, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2011/0270764 describes a method and system for performing electronic transactions using a point of sales device. This publication describes allowing a user to make payments at a point of sales device using the user's cellphone. However, this application does not describe methods and devices for keeping track of a user's light or energy usage and allowing a user to pay for these services on an incremental basis.